Improvement in seed-planters



2 Sheets Sheet 1.

L.- MOORE.

Grain-Drill.

Patented Apr 18. 1848.

llIlUll 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. MOORE.

Grain-Drill.

Patented Apr. 18. 1848.

ANI. PHOTO-LITRO. C0. N.Y. (OSBORHES PRCCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS MOORE, OF BART TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER OOUNTYPA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 5,522, dated April 18,1848.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that l, LEWIS MOORE, of the township of Bart, in the countyof Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a vnew and usefulimprovement in the machine for drilling in grain called Moores Grain-Drill,77 which is described as follows, reference beinghad to theannexed drawings ofthe same, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a top or birds-eye view ot' the machine. Fig. 2 is a top orbirds-eye view of the same, with the hopper and other parts removed.Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 4 is a verticallongitudinal section -through the saine. Fig. 5is asection through oneof the castings and movable brushes on the lower part of the hopper.Fig. 6 is a top view of the same. Fig. '7 is a section through one ofthe castings and brushes ou the lower part of the hopper, showing therelation ofthe sowing-cylinders and segment-slotted boxplates.

Similar letters in the figures refer to corresponding parts.

Ais the drill-frame, consisting of two side timbers, a a,connectedtogether by cross-ties b c d.

vB is the hopper, suspended between the side timbers, a, on horizontaljournals p, projecting journals p projecting from the end pieces orheads, e, of the hopper and passing through 'openings in said timbers.

C are levers turning on pins or screws f, inserted in' the ends of thehopper at one end and connected together at their opposite ends by ahorizontal bar, C', extending crosswise from one to the other andprojecting beyond the outer sides of the same, in order that its endsmay be caused to rest in offsets formed lin the upper ends of theinclined timbers g in the frame when desired to stop sowing, ashereinafter stated.

D are castings secured to the lower part ot' the hopper at the requireddistances apart in any convenient manner, curved on their lower parts tocorrespond with the peripheries of the sowing-cylinders, and having twoor more oblong openings, h h', in them, of different sizes, for thepassage of the grain from the hopper.

E are the sowing-cylinders, arran ged on the same horizontal lineimmediately below the castings on the bottom of thehopper, and turningon journals projecting from their ends and entering openings in castbox-plates F', secured to the end pieces or heads, c, of the hopper andto blocks of wood, jon the sides and near the middle of the hopper, andprojecting below the same. The plates F', just mentioned, for supportingthe journals of the sowing-cylinders are secured to the lower parts ofthe end pieces or heads, c, ot' the hopper and the lower parts of thetimbersj by screws t', passing through openings in one end ot' saidplates, and by screws lc, passing through seg ment-slots at theiropposite ends, scribed from the centers of the rstmentioned screws, t',upon which said plates move, so as to allow of said cylinders beingmoved lup and down on a segment-line to adjust them to the castings andbrushes on the lower part of the hopper to regulate the quantity ofgrain to be sown.

The sowing-cylinders have large and small cavities lm formed in straightlines around their peripheries immediately below the openings in thecastings for the reception of the grain, the larger cavities, l,beingformed in the cylinders immediately below the openings or slots hin the castings, and the smaller cavities,

m, immediately below the smaller openings, 7L, in the castings.

F are inclined brushesv resting against the peripheries of thecylinders, above the cavities in the same, and passing through openingsin the castingsD and inserted at their upper ends into openings in atransverse board, n, secured to the side ot' the hopper by screws o,passing through oblongslotsp in the same, so as to allow said board tobe lowered with the brushes as their lower ends wear away. These brushesare for the purpose of brushing back the grain and saving it from beingvbroken and the cylinder from being worn. G are pinions or cogwheelssecured to the outside ends of the cylinders and meshing in gear withsimilar cogwheels, G', on the horizontal axles of the driving-wheels,turning in boxes in the sides a a and parallel timbers ot' thedrill-frame.

H are the driving-wheels of the machine, made with iron hubs, woodenspokes and fellies, and hooped with iron.

I is a movable slide, slat, or gage in the hopper at the bottom of thesame, resting on the upper surfaces of the castings and perforated withoblong openings I', similar to and corresponding with those in thecastings when the slide is moved to the right or left and made to moveover the same, in order to bring said openings over either the smalleror larger set ofopenings in the castings and cavities in the cylindersto suit the kindsof grain desired to be drilled.

K represents a series of inclined iron bars or beams curved and broughttogether at their forward ends, and having journals on those curved endswhich turn in boxes secured to the forward cross-timber, b, of theframe, and divided at their near ends, so as to form prongs, whichembrace wings s, projecting from the upper forward part ofthe tubulardrill, and are attached to the same by two pins, q r, passing throughthe prongs and said wings, the forward pin, q, being made of woodinorder to break when the drill comes in contact with a rock or other hardsubstance, and the hinder iron pin, R', serving as a journal on whichthe drill turns.

L are the iron-winged tubulardrills, attached l to the bars or beams Kby the pins q R, as

above stated. The wooden pins g pass through openings in the wings attheir forward parts and corresponding openings in the bars or beams, soas to set the tubes at the proper angle of inclination, and in case ofthe drill striking a rock or hard substance to break and allow the drillto turn on the iron pi R and pass over said rock or other hardsubstance, and thus prevent the tubular drill being broken.

M are leather spouts secured to the lower part of the hopper immediatelybelow the cavities in the cylinders and extending into the tubulardrills below, so asto prevent the escape of the grain and conduct itinto the furrows.

L is a wrought-iron nosing or cutter fastened to the front of eachtubular drill for opening the furrow and preventing the tube being worn.This nosing may be easily renewed whenever worn.

O are chains attached to wings or projections on the upper back parts ofthe tubes and attached to pins t, projecting from the upper surface ofthe horizontal bar C.

P is a round or bar attached to the ends of the levers C and extendingfrom one to the other, by which the operator raises or lowers saidlevers and thus moves the hopper forward, throws the cog-wheel G out ofgear, and raises the tubular drills L out of the ground simultaneously.The ends of this round or bar P project beyond the outer sides of thesaid levers C,in order that its ends may rest against the back ends ofthe drill-frame A at a2 to hold it from going out of gear when inoperation. The ends of the side timbers, a, are inclined downward andinward for the purpose of holding the hopper to its place, asrepresented in Fig. 4.

The cavities m in the sowing-cylinders are provided with screws to altertheir sizes to suit different kinds of sowing.

Operation: The machine being first drawn, by horse or other power, tothe proper situation in the field, and the levers C, hopper B, andwinged tubular drills L lowered to the positions represented in Fig. 4,and the sliding slat or gage I moved so as to bring the openings I inthe same over the openings h in the castings D and cavities l m in thecylinders E, suited to the size and nature of the grain contained in thehopper, the machine is drawn over the parts of the field where the grainis to be sowed. The act of drawing the machine on the wheels causes thesowing-cylinders to turn in a reverse direction to the driving-wheels bythe cog-wheels Gr G', and the grain to be carried around in the cavitiesin the cylinders with their revolutions and to be discharged into theleather spouts M, which conduct it into the respective tubular drills L,with which they communicate, by which it is conducted into the furrowsformed by the cutters or nosings L on the forward parts of the tubes,the grain being prevented from escaping from the hopper between thecastings D and cylinders E except through the cavities lm in thecylinders by the brushes F, which also regulate the amount of grain tobe conveyed into the spouts by the cavities in the cylinders duringtheir revolutions. W'hen it is desired to stop the sowing during theprogress of the machine the levers C are raised and the ends of the barG inserted in the notches of the posts g, which throws the hopperforward on the arc of a circle, of which the journalsp of the hopperform the center, as indicated by the dotted line and arrow in Fig. 3,and disengages the cogwheels G'on the sowing-cylinders from gear withthe cogwheels G on the main driving-axles.

I do not claim to be the inventor of a machine for planting grain iudrills by means of hollow-toothed drills affixed to separate jointedrods suspended beneath a revolving distributing-roller at the bottom ofa hopper supported on a frame moved upon a pair of cart-wheels, as sucha machine has been used; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The particular combination and arrangement of the bars C, round P,bar G X, journals p, with the hopper B, frame A, and notched supports g,for moving the hopper and sowing-cylinders in the arc of a circle, forthe pur pose herein set forth.

2. The combination of the segment-slotted box-plates F', containing thebearings of the cylinder-axles, with the hopper, arranged and operatedin the manner and for the purpose above set forth.

3. The manner of attaching the tubular drills L to thef'orked rods orbars K by means of the wood and iron pins q r and flanges or wings s, asdescribed, and for the purpose set In testimony whereof I have hereuntosigned forth. my name, before two subseribin g witnesses, this 4. Thecombination of the chains O, with 16th day of March, 1848.

the tubes L and bars C of the hopper-frame, LEWIS MOORE.

by which the tubes are raised or lowered si- Witnesses:

multaneousiy with turning the hopper on its WM. L. RAKESTRAW,

axis, as described. EDWARD WICKS.

